Concept
3 readings
Argument
Concept · 3 readings
An argument offers reasons for a conclusion. Test what those reasons establish, apart from agreement, a vivid example or confidence in the person speaking.
A place to begin
Reference article
Argument: reasons and what they support
An argument gives reasons for a conclusion; an explanation says why something is so. This article sets out that vocabulary and what validity does, and does not, tell us about truth.
A counterexample workshop · Lesson 1 of 1
Testing a claim with a counterexample
A counterexample can test a general claim, or test an inference by describing a case in which its premises are true and its conclusion false. The workshop practices both, then asks what a fair repair of an argument should preserve.
All readings
3 readings · Title A–Z
Reference article
Argument: reasons and what they support
An argument gives reasons for a conclusion; an explanation says why something is so. This article sets out that vocabulary and what validity does, and does not, tell us about truth.
A counterexample workshop · Lesson 1 of 1
Testing a claim with a counterexample
A counterexample can test a general claim, or test an inference by describing a case in which its premises are true and its conclusion false. The workshop practices both, then asks what a fair repair of an argument should preserve.
Guided course · Module 1 · Lesson 1
What makes a question philosophical?
A dispute at a garden gate mixes factual, conceptual and normative questions. Neither general agreement nor a single example settles whether the rule is fair.
Study this in sequence
A counterexample workshop
Test how far a claim reaches by finding a case in which it fails, and practice on general statements, inferences and fair repairs to an argument.